The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

When the two returned, they found that the concubines had already chosen most of the men, and the assignments to each household had been decided.

The Empress Dowager seemed quite interested in the selection process and occasionally chimed in with comments about which household was best suited for whom.

Qingwan, who had no mother-in-law, was the focus of attention, especially because of the matter concerning Lady Fucha, which made Yinxiang feel "wronged".

This time was different from before with Consort Hui, so no matter how much Qingwan thought about it, she smiled and thanked her, accepting the person's offer.

The same was true for the others, including the Eighth Prince's wife. However, there were also people like the Third Prince's wife, whose legitimate son had grown up and was already known to Emperor Kangxi, so they remained calm.

The princes' wives did not stay long; only the four consorts and the Imperial Concubine remained to talk with the Empress Dowager.

On the way back, the group traveled together for a while. Qingwan noticed the Eighth Prince's wife's expression and worried that she might say something similar to what she had said at the Prince's residence before.

He said first, "Since Grandmother has bestowed people upon us, and we live in the palace, I'm afraid the people bestowed upon us will arrive first."

So I'll go back first and have someone arrange accommodations. I won't be traveling with you ladies, so I'll take my leave now.

After saying this, he slightly curtsied and left.

The Eighth Prince's wife really doesn't know how to behave in public, but that makes sense, otherwise she wouldn't have offended Chunque.

Even among the imperial clan, there were few good-tempered aunts, let alone princesses. So, the Eighth Prince's wife had been humiliated by Chunque, but she did not learn her lesson.

The Third Princess stared at Qingwan's retreating figure, and after she had gone far away, she suddenly laughed and said, "Look at our Thirteenth Sister-in-law, what a virtuous person she is, she even surpasses us, don't you think so, Eighth Sister-in-law?"

Ningyin felt annoyed by their words and said, "I have other things to do, so I won't talk to you ladies anymore."

After saying this, she prepared to leave, but the Fourth Princess Consort quickly stepped forward to stand beside her and said, "I'll go with you to see the children." The two left together.

The Third Prince's wife sneered, and the Eighth Prince's wife said coldly, "Third sister-in-law, I have no grudge against the Thirteenth Brother's wife. If you want to cause trouble in the future, you'd better not drag me into it."

Qingwan originally planned to go to Yuqing Palace, but she couldn't go because of the Empress Dowager's bestowal of a person.

She returned to the main room and sat there in a daze for a while until the wet nurse brought Moyaqi in, which brought her back to her senses. She hugged the child and kissed her repeatedly.

Seeing Moya's happy smile, she felt her heart gradually calm down.

She tried to coax Moyaqi to call her "E-nie," but no matter how she tried, Moyaqi wouldn't make a sound.

Although the child cannot yet speak in fluent sentences, his pronunciation is already very clear.

Perhaps because others often teased her and talked to her, she became less inclined to speak.

Holding the child, she called out to Aunt Yan, "Grandmother and the ladies have bestowed people upon me, and I am a little tired today."

"I'll trouble you, Aunt Yan, to take a few people and prepare a room for her, and also pick out one or two young maids and eunuchs for her."

Aunt Yan couldn't discern the expression on Qingwan's face, and simply replied, "Okay."

The newcomer is a bondservant of the Han Chinese Eight Banners, surnamed Li.

There were no Han soldiers here, let alone Han people who were not in the banners.

The other princes had many women in their households, and several of them preferred Han women to Manchu women.

What about Yinxiang?

Qingwan couldn't help but ponder. In recent years, she hadn't been able to discern Yinxiang's preferences regarding women. He would accept whatever Kangxi offered him, neither refusing nor actively seeking out women.

It is unknown whether the arrival of this Lady Li will disrupt the current situation. Her current success is entirely due to Yinxiang's lack of favoritism.

She patted Moyaqi in her arms, feeling impatient and annoyed. Could her peaceful days be coming to an end?

This time, several princes were bestowed the gift together, and it happened right in front of the Empress Dowager. It's possible that it was Emperor Kangxi's idea, so she couldn't even find an excuse to decline.

Just as he was lost in thought, Ningyin and the Fourth Prince's wife arrived together.

As soon as Ning Yin entered the door, she said, "Well, you ran away, leaving us behind."

As soon as you left, Third Sister-in-law couldn't hold back anymore, so Fourth Sister-in-law and I left first too.

Qingwan quickly put Moyaqi down, smiled and apologized to the two of them, then pulled them down to sit: "It just so happens that the Thirteenth Prince got some new tea."

In just a short while, Moyaqi deliberately leaned towards the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Fortunately, Chenxiang caught her. She seemed to have discovered something new and exciting, and the whole room was filled with her laughter.

The Fourth Princess Consort had been watching Moyaqi ever since she entered the house. She hadn't seen the child often, but each time she saw her, the child was cuter than the last.

Seeing Qingwan and Ningyin talking, the Fourth Princess Consort simply sat down next to Moyaqi and took her into her arms. For some reason, she felt a strong connection with this child. Perhaps it was because she had held her when she was just born.

Moyaqi didn't struggle when she was held in the arms of a stranger she had hardly ever met, and let her do as she pleased.

Fourth Princess Consort couldn't help but laugh and said, "Such a well-behaved child, it's fortunate that he has a bunch of old women and maids following him, otherwise he might have been tricked away."

Ning Yin also laughed and said, "That's right, anyone can hold her and play with her. I've been here so many times and I've never seen her cry or fuss."

I told my thirteenth sister-in-law that I could keep her with me for a few days, but she refused.

This was obviously a joke. Qingwan was willing to give it up, but she wouldn't dare to actually bring Moyaqi to her side.

She only had two sons of her own, and her health was compromised, so she longed for the sweet and tender little princesses of other families.

The person closest to her was Moyaqi, who was well-behaved and was now at a fun time, so she became even more eager to visit Moyaqi and started going to her house more and more frequently.

She was still a little indignant after saying that: "What's wrong with me keeping her with me for a few days? I'll add to her dowry later."

The Fourth Prince's wife also said to Qingwan, "It's inconvenient for you and the Thirteenth Brother to leave the palace, especially for you. When the child is older, you can send him to our residence more often."

I took the children to the farm to ride horses; it was much more enjoyable than in the South Garden.

She had not conceived since Honghui. Although Yinzhen had no love for her, he respected her very much. She only needed to sit in the position of the Fujin and watch the intrigue below.

So when they had nothing to do, they would take the concubines from the manor away from Yinzhen to the estate or garden for some fresh air.

This was the Fourth Prince's wife's kind intention, and Qingwan naturally agreed, adding, "I don't know who this child takes after; he's so young, yet he has so much energy."

When they get older, I'm afraid we'll have to choose girls who are much older than us. The Thirteenth Prince even said that they would be good material for learning riding and archery in the future.

He hadn't even gotten his feet firmly on the ground before he was already thinking about practicing horseback archery.

As she spoke, Moyaqi struggled to get down to the ground. Even before she could walk, she liked to jump on people.

Now that he's learning to walk, he can't stay still for even a moment. It's already a great honor that he's been able to stay in the Fourth Prince's arms for so long today.

Seeing that Moyaqi was struggling fiercely, Fourth Princess Consort put her on the ground. Chenxiang immediately took Moyaqi from Fourth Princess Consort's hands and half-supported her to walk.

Her eyes never left Moyaqi; having a child by her side certainly brought a lot of joy.

Fourth Prince's wife rarely visited the prince's residence and didn't spend much time with Qingwan. Fortunately, Ningyin was there to mediate, and the group chatted happily.

The Fourth Prince's wife's visit today was also a spur-of-the-moment decision. She used to be on good terms with the Eighth Prince's wife and they often went to the palace together to pay their respects.

However, Yinzhen disliked the Eighth Prince's wife. Although he wouldn't say much about the interactions between women, he couldn't help but frown every time he heard that she was with the Eighth Prince's wife. As time went by, she gradually distanced herself from the Eighth Prince's wife.

During our conversation today, I found Qingwan to be quite nice as well.